Chapter 148 - 116: Purple Mist Red Fruit

Chapter 148: Chapter 116: Purple Mist Red Fruit

At the Hundred Treasures Tower, on the first floor overlooking River Street, Alchemist Zhuang sat in a waterside pavilion, admiring the Spirit Beast Carp in the Qinghe River.

At both ends of the Qinghe River, the Marketplace had set up Spirit Nets.

As a result, these Spirit Beast Carp could not escape the Qinghe Marketplace and could only be admired by Cultivators in the river.

Their fate was much better than that of the Cyan-Scaled Fish.

After all, once a Cyan-Scaled Fish completed its cultivation, it was destined for the dinner table.

A short while later.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alchemist Zhuang saw the figures of his granddaughter and disciple, as well as Chen Jianghe, walking toward him.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, it’s rare to see you out of seclusion!"

Alchemist Zhuang walked up to greet him, joking, "But you’ve come out at the perfect time."

"The perfect time?"

Chen Jianghe shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "I’m not so sure. I’m not like you, Alchemist Zhuang. Even if there’s something good, my pockets are empty."

"No matter. If it’s something useful to you, I can lend you some Spirit Stones," Alchemist Zhuang said with a laugh.

"Huh?"

Chen Jianghe was a little surprised.

’Someone actually offering to lend out Spirit Stones these days? No, that’s not right. Jiang Ruxu said there would be a Lifespan Extension Pill at the auction. What Alchemist Zhuang lacks most right now is lifespan. Logically, he should be putting all his resources into buying the Lifespan Extension Pill; he couldn’t possibly lend out Spirit Stones.’

"Well, in that case, I thank you in advance, Alchemist Zhuang."

He wouldn’t refuse Alchemist Zhuang’s friendly overture. He accepted it readily, as he was also interested in forming an alliance.

After chatting in the pavilion for a long time, he glanced at the sky.

It was already 7:15 PM.

By this time, the Guard Team had already begun clearing the streets, driving out any Cultivators who didn’t reside in the Marketplace.

Those who lived in the Marketplace also had to leave the streets and return to their own residences.

"Let’s go."

Alchemist Zhuang said.

The four of them then walked toward the stairs of the Hundred Treasures Tower.

Auctions were usually held in the morning. Only when rare treasures were being sold would an auction be held at 9:00 PM.

Furthermore, they required invitations.

Attendees also had to arrive early, by 7:15 PM, or they would be forced to leave Qinghe Marketplace.

Qinghe Marketplace’s reason for this was simple: to protect the safety of the Cultivators who successfully bid on treasures.

After the auction ended, the city gates would be closed.

Only Foundation Establishment Cultivators would be able to fly out.

Qi Refining Cultivators could only stay in the Marketplace, which would prevent them from being robbed by Tribulation Cultivators.

As for Foundation Establishment Cultivators?

If they chose to leave and something happened, Qinghe Marketplace would not be responsible.

Arriving on the fourth floor.

They found a spacious, well-lit, square-shaped hall. At the front was an auction stage, with rows of seats below it.

However, there were no private boxes.

Everyone, including Foundation Establishment Cultivators, had to sit in the main hall. However, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators’ seats were closer to the front, more spacious, and separate from the others.

The seats for Qi Refining Cultivators were in the back and arranged in connected rows.

It was a completely different style from Jingyue Marketplace, but one thing was the same: the differential treatment of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Cultivators.

"Please present your invitations."

At the entrance, four Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators from the Hundred Treasures Tower were checking every Cultivator’s invitation.

Only Foundation Establishment Cultivators did not need an invitation and could enter directly.

"Here are two invitations, the four of us..."

"Elder Chen?"

Before Alchemist Zhuang could finish his sentence, one of the four Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators checking invitations saw Chen Jianghe and immediately walked over.

"Welcome, Elder Chen. Please, come in."

Er...

Chen Jianghe recognized this person. It was the same Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator who had gone to Alchemist Zhuang’s Blessed Residence to invite him before.

"Thank you. Here is my invitation."

Chen Jianghe naturally knew why the man had invited him in directly without asking to see his invitation.

It was, of course, because of Gao Peiyao.

Gao Peiyao was now a Steward at the Hundred Treasures Tower. As a Manager directly in charge of all the tower’s Cultivators, she could control their fates.

This wasn’t the first time Chen Jianghe had been invited by Gao Peiyao, so any Cultivator who knew this wouldn’t dare to offend him.

The Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator from the Hundred Treasures Tower took the invitation from Chen Jianghe and saw Gao Peiyao’s signature on it.

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He just knew the relationship between Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao was special.

’For an auction with such rare treasures, how could she not invite him?’

He secretly praised himself for his quick thinking.

Then, he returned to the entrance, looked at Alchemist Zhuang, and said coolly, "Alright, two invitations. You three can go in."

Alchemist Zhuang’s old face flushed, and he walked in, somewhat embarrassed.

He had originally intended to use this opportunity to get closer to Chen Jianghe; after all, these invitations were not easy to come by.

But he had forgotten about Gao Peiyao’s existence.

"The invitation in your hand, Fellow Daoist Chen, was it personally written by Fairy Peiyao?" Alchemist Zhuang asked.

Chen Jianghe nodded.

Seeing this, Alchemist Zhuang was ecstatic.

The better Chen Jianghe’s relationship with Gao Peiyao, the greater his chances of obtaining Youthful Grass again.

He had already gathered more than half of the materials for the Youthful Pill. He was only missing three Spiritual Materials, the most difficult of which was the Youthful Grass.

As soon as he had all the materials, he could immediately begin the Alchemy process.

"Fairy Peiyao is so good to Elder Chen," Jiang Ruxu said with envy.

Chen Jianghe didn’t respond. He wouldn’t take the initiative to use Gao Peiyao’s name to his advantage in public, as that would displease her.

Then, the four of them sat in the back rows.

After a moment, Chen Jianghe was surprised to find that many Cultivators were, intentionally or not, sitting in the back, as if the auction stage were at the rear of the hall instead of the front.

Before long, he understood why.

As the Foundation Establishment Cultivators entered and took the single seats at the front, he counted about a dozen of them.

No wonder no Qi Refining Cultivators were willing to sit at the front.